Where I Stand — Brian Greenspun: Our flattened Earth

Friday, May 6, 2005 | 5:27 a.m.

Brian Greenspun is editor of the Las Vegas Sun.

WEEKEND EDITION

May 7 - 8, 2005

Maybe Christopher Columbus was wrong.

In 1492, Mr. Columbus, convinced that the Earth was round, set sail westward from Spain to find India and all of her great riches. Chris believed that a water route was far preferable and far more efficient than the overland trail blazed by Marco Polo and others or the treacherous sea route around Africa. So what if he didn't know America stood in the way of his plans. Because of that effort some 500 years ago, we are living in the greatest country in the world. And ever since then we have known for a fact that the world is round.

We may be proved wrong.

Thomas Friedman is perhaps the most astute, knowledgeable and intelligent writer of our time. As a columnist at the New York Times, he has won the Pulitzer Prize three times for his in-depth writing. He is the acknowledged expert on the Middle East and is the author of three best-selling books.

His first, "From Beirut to Jerusalem," is still considered the definitive work on the Middle East. He also wrote "The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization" and "Longitudes and Attitudes: Exploring the World After September 11."

Each of these books has been a primer for anyone who wants to know more about these subjects but just couldn't figure out where to go to get the facts. Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative, most people will agree that when it comes to knowing what he is talking about, there are few, if any, people in Thomas Friedman's league.

I am telling you this because we are about to get very lucky. Tom is coming to Las Vegas to speak. And he is going to share with us his reasons for believing that the world, this world, is flat.

And why is that important to us? Well, for those of us who have grown up believing that the center of the universe begins and ends in the United States of America and that is the way life will be for our children and their children, there are very good reasons to believe otherwise. And what we do about it, when we do it and how we go about it are issues with which we, as a nation, must deal.

I know it isn't as sexy as where we go to church, who we marry or what pharmacy we buy our prescription drugs at, but America's place in the coming decades and our ability to survive and prosper when we get there, should be matters of some concern.

Friedman's latest book just hit the stores. It is called, "The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century." It is remarkable in its research, its writing style and its ability to share with regular folks some very thoughtful and complex ideas about the whys and wherefores of the coming decades.

I am not going to share with you the reasons he is convinced the world is flattening out. That is something you'll need to do for yourself by reading his book. Or, you can attend his lecture and get the shorthand version.

Suffice it to say that Columbus set sail to the west to find India and prove the world was round. Friedman set sail (in an airplane) and flew east directly to India and learned that the effects of globalization have caused the world to flatten out. And we in the all-powerful United States better pay attention or we will be in danger of falling off the edge!

I am giving our readers a heads-up because Tom is coming to UNLV on Thursday. He is speaking as part of the Barbara Greenspun Lecture Series at Artemus W. Ham Hall at 7 p.m. Following the lecture, he will autograph books, preferably his own.

The tickets are free but they are limited. So don't wait until the last minute. Contact UNLV for more information.

And never say you can't learn anything from my column. This is your opportunity to learn more than you ever thought possible from one of the few people who actually does know what he is talking about.